Recipe for losing in Louisiana

By Richard Brear  |   Tuesday, September 30, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

San Francisco 49ers
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It’s pretty clear what happened during the San Francisco 49ers' 31-17 loss in New Orleans last Sunday. And if corrections aren't made, it'll probably be more of the same this week for Mike Nolan's team, which hosts 2-1 New England.

The first ingredient in the dish of defeat Niners fans were served Sunday is quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan’s maddening tendency to hold on to the ball too long, endlessly looking for an open receiver downfield.

When the ball turned up in Frank Gore’s hands, that problem disappeared. The Saints’ accomplishment of forbidding 100 yards of rushing by any back facing them this season is still intact, Gore or no Gore, but he amassed an average of 5.1 yards per carry in New Orleans (a season high for the back). If Gore can manage such yardage against the Saints’ stingy defense, he should be given many opportunities to move the ball during the course of this week’s game and keep the 49ers in contention versus the Patriots, who are coming off a bye.

As for O'Sullivan, the 49ers' last loss shouldn't be blamed entirely on him. A lot of finger-pointing ought to be directed toward an offensive line that must rededicate itself to top-notch protection of its quarterback. Allowing six sacks in one game is way over the top, even when an O-line has to protect an inexperienced starting QB with an inability to do his part to avoid being taken down behind the line of scrimmage.

In addition, the 49ers' high-ranked pass defense -- which was lit up by Drew Brees -- must shine brighter this weekend; if not, even unspectacular Tom Brady successor Matt Cassel might have a field day en route to dropping San Francisco to 2-3.
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About Richard Brear

My first newspaper article of many appeared in print in the 1960's, but my fascination with journalism never got too serious until roughly twenty years later. In the 80's, I became a certified teacher of English Language Arts, got degrees from the University of Houston, and began teaching writing ...
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